My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 154

Michelle.

The moon is high in the sky, and the forest around me is alive with a chorus from nearby bats, but I pay it no attention. My focus is elsewhere. I’m hunting for deer tonight since it brings me peace and clarity.

The rest of my pack has gone home for the day. We were all hunting together earlier, but now it’s just me left in the woods. Not that I mind. I rather be out here and focusing on a task rather than letting myself be overwhelmed by my thoughts.

Sadly, the forest isn’t keeping my stomach from churning. Even my heart is aching and my mind races as I think about him, Kit, the irritatingly beautiful demon who is my mate.

I replace him attractive and yet, I don’t want to fall in love with him. He is too mischievous. I can never tell what is going on inside his head, not to mention the fact that he dated his sister before it turned out we were mates—Bella would kill me if she knew!

With a knot forming in my stomach, I push my feelings aside and begin to search for my prey. The deer are usually easy enough to spot, but today, they seem to have vanished. I haven’t seen a single one since I entered the forest, and I’m beginning to worry.

Suddenly, a sharp sound pierces the air. It sounds like a screeching vulture and I leap into action. My back stiffens and my hackles rise as a warning growl rumbles in my throat. My instincts are warning me of danger.

It only takes me a few moments to realize what kind of danger I’m facing. Standing before me is a giant, fearsome creature, with eyes that gleam in the moonlight. Its body is covered in thick fur, and it has huge, deadly claws.

A giant zombie bunny?

I’ve never seen anything like it before. It goes without saying it’s not from this world. This creature is something else entirely.

“What… are you?”

As if having heard me, the creature locks its red eyes on me and lets out a horrible roar before charging at me. I spring to action, taking a stance and readying myself to fight. But the creature is fast, and it’s coming straight for me.

I’m no stranger to fighting. My magic abilities are top-notch, but this creature is unlike anything I’ve ever faced before. It’s powerful and rabid, and has a strength that I could never physically match.

Luckily, I have my own power. As the creature charges towards me, I let out a cry of my own and unleash a powerful blast of ice magic.

The zombie bunny screeches and I win when it bites me in the shoulder. B***d splashes in every direction and I put more force into my magic until the creature is sent flying through the air. It cries out in pain, spins around in the air and then stumbles to the ground.

But it’s not over yet.

The dark bunny tries to stand again, only for me to lock my eyes on the creature and freeze it into a block of ice before shattering it with the sheer force of my mind. There. I’ve defeated the f*****g monster. But at what cost? I’ve used up all of my energy, and I feel weak and shaky. I’m also severely injured, my dark fur matted with b***d.

s**t, how do I explain this to the family?

As I limp my way back home, my wounds burning as I move, I’m in pain and I’m scared. What kind of creature attacked me? Where did it come from? I have no answers, but I know that something isn’t right.

When I finally make it home, I see my family gathered in the living room. Their expressions range from shock to anger when they see me standing there covered in b***d.

“Michelle?! What the f**k happened to you?” My dad roars. “Who hurt you? I swear I will wring their f*****g neck—”

“No person did this, dad! I was attacked by a f*****g monster!” My voice comes out frustrated and I wince at the pain that can be felt in my shoulder.

My mom immediately notices I’m struggling to stand and rushes over to me to wrap her arms around me in a hug. “Let’s get you patched up before we talk about what happened, okay? Your wounds need to be tended straight away.”

I struggle to smile back at her. “Okay.”

My mom gently leads me up the stairs and orders everyone else to stay put until she has finished tending to my wounds with the help of old granny Jinora. Both are worried about me, but also concerned about what happened.

I spend the next hour trying to explain what happened out there in the dark woods, but no one seems to believe me when I tell them it was a giant zombie bunny who attacked me. Not even my dad buys the story until he looks inside my head.

When he does, his face pales and then he excuses himself, saying he needs to go and replace Damien to ask about the monster. My other family members leave the room as well, saying they want to go and take a look at the body of the dead creature.

I think that’s a great idea and soon I’m left alone with Bella inside the mansion’s room for injured people. My eyes seek hers. I’m about to tell her how terrifyingly huge the zombie bunny was, but then I notice tears are streaming down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, my throat tightening with dread.

“I-I,” Bella stammers, her voice shaking before she continues. “it’s Kit. He broke up with me and just thinking about it makes me want to cry. He said he has found his mate and that’s why he can’t date me,” her eyes meet mine. “Can you believe it? The guy turns eighteen and immediately he replaces his skank of a mate!”

My heart sinks. Kit had been Bella’s first serious boyfriend, and she had been so happy. The thought that I’m the cause of my sister’s broken heart makes me feel guilty; Kit is my mate and he broke up with Bella because of me.

Bella sinks to her knees inside the hospital room, her sobs echoing off the walls of the tiny little bedroom. “Why did he have to do this to me? What am I going to do? I will never replace anyone as perfect as him!” she cries.

My heart hurts for my sister. I long to comfort her, but instead I just sit frozen in place, overwhelmed with guilt. I can physically feel my own heart shattering inside my chest. I should tell Bella the truth right now. The knowledge that I’m deceiving Bella is weighing heavily on me, yet I can’t bring myself to speak.

Instead, I just watch Bella cry, feeling helpless and guilty. What am I supposed to do? Bella will never speak to me again after she replaces out I’m Kit’s fated mate. I can’t be with him; b***d runs thicker than water. The relationship I have with my sister is more important than the one I share with Kit, which only means one thing: I have to reject him!